A while back, I dropped my laptop on the floor and broke the screen.
At the time, I thought I’d dodged a bullet because, other than a little crack
in the upper corner of the screen, everything seemed to be working. That’s one of the reasons
I’ve always liked Dell computers; the ones I’ve owned have been fairly durable,
and I can be a little hard on the equipment. Anyhow, the little crack in the
corner of the screen began to creep, and then it became a large and growing
black blob that was making it hard to read anything on the computer. I guess that’s
what happens when you damage a liquid crystal display screen. Who knew.
Two weeks ago, I finally threw in the towel and decided to order a
replacement screen. Therein began my foray into the netherworld of Dell Hell.
I called the Dell Oh-Haha-You-Want-Replacement-Parts-For-Your-Dell-Laptop-Hahaha Department, only to be re-routed four or five times to different departments, and each was in a far away land where English is decidedy a second language.
Finally, after about fifteen minutes of this, I was connected to someone whom I thought might be right guy. He
took my service tag number, which is a customer identification number in Dell’s enormous database of clients which differentiates me from all the other customers they choose to ignore. He asked me to
hold the line, several times, but eventually we were disconnected before anything productive could be achieved. I called back, somewhat
exasperated as one might imagine, and, after three more re-directed calls, was
told by someone that I might have better luck ordering the part online (from my
damaged computer). For the record, I have never had better luck ordering items
online.
As advised, and now a little frazzled, I tried the online chat/order route, and that proved
unsuccessful as well. For some inexplicable reason, I was disconnected from two
different chat sessions, shortly after I’d typed (and re-typed) a comprehensive list of the pertinent
information. What I did finally track down, with some difficulty, was the Dell part number I needed in order to purchase my laptop screen. From there, and after about three more disconnected phone
calls, I was eventually able to order the part I needed, but not before being promised,
twice, that someone would call me back (and never did). Dell used to be a
pretty good company, and I still have no quarrel with their product (if it can
withstand my abuse, it gets the El Destructo seal of approval), but their customer service sucks.
No company should make it that hard for a consumer to buy parts from them! It’s
as if they design their website to be unhelpful, and forget about a phone
conversation. I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone.
Went for a snowshoe on the frozen lake last weekend, and I must say,
that is a lovely thing to do on a sunny winter day. Goodness knows I need the exercise. The ice on the lake has been a little unpredictable, and with the extreme variances in temperature, one day raining the next
day sub-zero, I was reluctant to venture out until recently. I did see a snowmobile, towing an ice hut out
onto the lake the other day, and that is always a good sign. In past winters, I’ve taken the ATV out on the lake, and there are no shortage of snowmobilers up here zapping around like Hell's Insects,
but I think I enjoy walking more. I don’t think I’ve ever really embraced the high
speed snow machine thing. It's hard enough to stay warm going slow. For me, going fast is much more fun in warm weather. Slow and steady wins the race, says the turtle.
Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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